1. Field
This invention relates to the field of platform security.
2. Background
Advances in technology have opened up many opportunities for applications that go beyond the traditional ways of doing business. Electronic commerce (e-commerce) and business-to-business (B2B) transactions are now becoming popular, reaching the global markets at a fast rate. Unfortunately, while electronic platforms like computers provide users with convenient and efficient methods of doing business, communicating and transacting, they are also vulnerable for unscrupulous attacks. Examples of these attacks include virus, intrusion, security breach, and tampering, to name a few. Therefore, it is becoming more and more important to protect the integrity of data stored within or downloaded into a platform.
Various cryptographic mechanisms may be used to protect the integrity of data. One type of cryptographic mechanism involves the use of authorization certificates to provide sufficient protection during a boot cycle of a platform. For example, an “authorization certificate” can provide verifiable evidence of which software modules are authorized to run on a platform. Although these authorization certificates provide some levels of platform security, they are quite restrictive because no new software modules can be run without prior approval from a certificate issuer with the requisite authority. This requirement would greatly impede current software development and the on-going progression toward open software.